TOMATO, BERRY FRUIT, AND MARKET GROWERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23704, 11 January 1939, Page 5

TOMATO, BERRY FRUIT, AND MARKET GROWERS

TO THE EDITOR

Sir,—l consider I would be Jacking as past president if I did not let those engaged in the industry know what has, and is, actually taking place. Every grower should know now of the appointment of an Advisory Board by the Government. Whether this is a genuine attempt or not to do something for the industry will remain to be seen. I look upon the board as a very dangerous institution seeing all their deliberations and determinations are to be treated as confidential. The Government itself holds numerous caucus meetings to consider the findings of their Advisory Board (the Cabinet), yet we are being denied the same privilege and right which they themselves deem so necessary. I take this opportunity of warning the growers that very far-reaching and costly alterations in our marketing conditions and systems may take place. I say every grower should have the right to express his opinion on all ‘hese matters, but this is not to be. Even in our Christchurch Association a meeting of the committee was held and the findings were given to the directors as instructions for them to act upon. What happened at this meeting had to be dragged out and was severely criticised at the next general meeting. Not having heard of any progress as regards the Agricultural Workers Act. as chairman of the Dominion Council I got into communication with Mr Pritchard as time was going on and nothing being done. He explained to me he had been refused an interview by the Minister of Labour, who said the matter was judicare having been dealt with by the Conciliation

Court. Although I had not the slightest difficulty to get an Interview with the Minister on the same matter in Christchurch through the member of my electorate, Mr McCoombs, which I did on two occasions, and was successful in my second attempt in convincing the Minister that the industry could not work under the I.C. and A. Act and needed the elasticity of the Agricultural Workers Act owing to weather conditions being often in control. My success on the above question has caused a lot of hard thinking by some people, and as a result evidently I had to be got rid of. Then there is the question of Chinese having.representation on our Dominion Council, also to be admitted as members to our associations. This has been turned down unanimously by the Christchurch Tomato Growers’ Association, as recorded in the minutes. Perhaps the reason for such interest in the welfare of Chinese can be gleaned by the perusal of the Hutt Valley balance sheet of their Industrial Disputes Committee, which was circulated at our last Dominion Council conference. The balance sheet showed, among amounts collected, that three colonies of Chinese contributed, and I understand they were promised Dominion representation and admission to European associations in return for their contributions. While it cost Hutt Val-

ley £2OB for their agreement, it cost Canterbury £2 10s, plus the advantage of being under the Agricultural Workers’ Act. While addressing our association, Mr Pritchard made reference to this matter, stating that he had been successful in persuading the representative of the, Auckland Union to stay proceedings so as to have a Dominion agreement on expiration of the Canterbury and Hutt Valley agreements. Canterbury had the expiration date of their agreement to coincide with Hutt Valley for the purpose of contracting a Dominion agreement when the present one runs out, which met with the Minister’s full approval, so Mr Pritchard was actually forestalled by several months. He stated that we must be organised before we could expect the Government to do anything. Yet the Government could bring down conditions for guaranteed price for butter-fat before they came into power and without the dairy farmers being organised. It is all bunkum about having to be organised, the requirements of an Order-in-Council or Acts of Parliament. The Minister has all the power required in the Board of Trade Act of 1920, and the 1937 Fruit Marketing Committee’s report is all that is required for conditions of marketing which would ensure a fair return for the grower for the fruit and vegetables which he markets.

The importations of tomatoes from Cook Islands bringing with them numerous diseases as we have found to our sorrow, the most virulent being spotted wilt, also the possibility of the introduction of fruit fly through this channel, to say nothing of the fiuge loss made annually by the Maui Pomare, and further the cost of scientific men and equipment to combat these diseases, cause the whole business to be a failure from an economic standpoint. Yet in the face of all these facts, one of our oldest growers at a recent meeting said the Government must have cheap tomatoes for the working man. When everything is taken into consideration it makes them the dearest tomatoes the people of this country ever bought. The guaranteed price to pip fruit growers will cost the Government somewhere in the vicinity of £200,000 on a production of about £2,000,000 this year. The tomato, berrv fruit and market grower markets produce to the value of £7.000.000 or £8,000,000 annually, yet he has no guaranteed price. His wages are 2s per week higher. He is entitled to the same treatment as any other section of primary producers, and the sooner he wakes up to these intolerable conditions the better it will be for .the industry as a whole.

I have often listened to the Prime Minister saying how everybody should have a fair return for their goods and services. Does he think we do not comply with the above? If not, why have we been neglected so long? 1 would like to remind him that he is beginning his fourth year of office and yet nothing has been done for one of the most essential industries in the Dominion from more than one standpoint. I have often heard him say how he feels for the children, yet through his inaction many a child has not been able to receive a handful of cherries or a few strawberries this Christmas, which are. I think, the delight of all children, to say nothing of what all the other sections of the industry might offer. Again, in recent statements in the press the Prime Minister stated the men and the industries would sink or swim together. The men are swimming alright, but the growers are sinking just as surely.

There are many things which require immediate attention, the most important of all being charging for cases and the receiving charge—a charge made for absolutely no service at all, and yet the Government stand by and allow this grave injustice to go on. There are also the market prices for fruit and vegetables which are broadcast on a Government service, and which do not convey the correct prices. They are very misleading both to the growers and the public. Although representations have been made to the Government on various occasions it allows rafferty rules to prevail. I gave notice of motion at our last meeting that I will move at our next monthly meeting “ that the minutes of our last Dominion conference held in' Wellington last July be read and dis* cussed.” This has never been done. Why?—l am, etc.. C. E. Pope, Past President, Dominion Council of Tomato, Soft Fruit and Produce Growers. Christchurch, January 4.